9395 Tandem Wheel Option

[Blakbird]

I was going to write a quick review of 9395, but I see that TechnicBricks beat me too it. Instead then, I'll present a small improvement I've made. 9395 is quite a lovely tow truck, but it has one fatal flaw, and that's the lack of tandem wheels on the rear axle. As it turns out, converting it is quite simple and requires very few additional parts (apart from the wheels).

Pictured below is the model as designed by LEGO.

You can see the big spacers between the chassis frame and the wheels. Those will have to go. There is so much space there that it almost looks like they left it open intentionally. See the 3L light gray axle sticking out just to the right of the wheel on the lower part of the image? Those will have to go and get replaced with 2L so they don't protrude. The 3x5 liftarms will be rotated and a couple of pins will get moved. Finally, the axles coming from the differential will get replaced with 6L. When all is done, here is what you get:

So much better! This truck is very like those I see every single day in the northwest of the USA, and never in life have I seen one without a tandem axle, so this makes it much more realistic. Enjoy!

[Conchas]

Sorry Man!

I had this model and a few others for more than two weeks now, and only yesterday I was able to finish the review of one of them...

Very good suggestion yours!

Usually TLG fails to use tandem wheels on their models, most likely to save on the tire/wheels and make the models to fit in some budget.

I should have mentioned it, in my review!

Maybe I'll add it tomorrow, and include a link to this post from yours. But now it's time to sleep... 5:27AM here...

[jorgeopesi]

Tandem wheels make more realistic the lego models but maybe that increases too much the final price of the set, at least in 3 axles vehicles. Anyway is good to lego make mistakes so we can do MODs .

[timslegos]

Nice work Blakbird!

tim

[Smrgol]

That is very nice and the mod is a simple one to do thanks to your explanation and it does look a lot more realistic now

[Meatman]

Awesome!

[Pauger]

I was going to write a quick review of 9395, but I see that TechnicBricks beat me too it.

Nothing wrong with writing one anyways. Different persons have different views and opinions. Besides, you are probably the best at making reviews for technic sets on EB.

[dhc6twinotter]

I like it! This set should have had dualies from the beginning, but so have a lot of other LEGO Technic sets. Nice mod!

[efferman]

good job blakbird. even if i had made not a RC conversion of 9395, i had made the tandem wheel option too. it is a minimum at these tow trucks

[dr_spock]

Nice MOD. Much more realistic. All these type of tow trucks I see here in North America have tandem wheels in the rear.

[Saberwing40k]

tandem ? don't you know that the proper term is "dualie". tandem would mean that the wheels would be behind each other, not sharing a common axle. it's still a great mod, you just had a little problem with the terms.

[Paul Boratko]

tandem ? don't you know that the proper term is "dualie". tandem would mean that the wheels would be behind each other, not sharing a common axle. it's still a great mod, you just had a little problem with the terms.

Actually I think it is "Dually"... You are correct though, The Majority of the time "Tandem" is when something is behind something else working together... Like a Tandem Bicycle...

[Blakbird]

Actually I think it is "Dually"... You are correct though, The Majority of the time "Tandem" is when something is behind something else working together... Like a Tandem Bicycle...

Yes, I suppose tandem is not the right term. However, "dually" is informal and is not the real term either. I can't seem to figure out what the correct actual term is. Perhaps "dual wheel axle" would be simple enough.

[Goose_0815]

Hi,

I did nearly the same mod - but for the axles coming from the differential, I needed 8L for replacement - how did you manage to use 6L axles?

[Darth Dino]

Hi

Great! And now it is a Dodge Ram 3500... :)

What about "twin wheels"? That is how we call that in Germany.

Dino

Edited January 3, 2012 by Darth Dino

[Paul Boratko]

Yes, I suppose tandem is not the right term. However, "dually" is informal and is not the real term either. I can't seem to figure out what the correct actual term is. Perhaps "dual wheel axle" would be simple enough.

I know what you mean as "Dually" sounds like a slang term for something else, most likely "Dual Rear Tires or Double Rear Wheels"... When we order parts for this type of truck at the shop, different companies refer to it as one or the other, mostly "Dually" and sometimes even just "Double Rears"

I suppose it's like referring to an automatic transmission as a "Slushbox"

Edited January 3, 2012 by Paul Boratko

[Blakbird]

I did nearly the same mod - but for the axles coming from the differential, I needed 8L for replacement - how did you manage to use 6L axles?

I did it by accidentally typing the number 6 instead of the number 8. You are right, they are 8L.

[Samanen]

Has anyone got a better solution for this mod? I thing that the axle should be better secured so that int can't be pulled out so easyly.

[parda]

It seems that the model is planned to do this or that the original prototype has that tandem and it was removed for production or pricing reasons.... Anyway, nice modification :)

[750ACE]

Replace the Pin Connector (48989 3L with 4 Pins) with two Long friction pins (6558). Use two half bush or one full bush in between the frame and the 1 x 3 black lift arm. On the otherside of the 1x3 lift arm use another half bush.

[DLuders]

@ 750ACE: What would that do, to replace the 48989 "Light Bluish Gray Technic, Pin Connector Perpendicular 3L with 4 Pins" with two 6558 "Technic, Pin Long with Friction Ridges Lengthwise" parts?

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[750ACE]

@ 750ACE: What would that do, to replace the 48989 "Light Bluish Gray Technic, Pin Connector Perpendicular 3L with 4 Pins" with two 6558 "Technic, Pin Long with Friction Ridges Lengthwise" parts?

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Correct, then put a 1x3 black lift arm on the end. Add a full size bush in between and a half on the end. It's a quick hack fix but it works pretty good. How can I attach an image?

[skylinedan]

DRW for short, LOL. we say Dually on my diesel site mostly or DRW

Dan.

[DLuders]

@ 750ACE: You can attach an image to your reply by pressing the "More Reply Options" button at the lower-right corner of the "Reply to this topic" window. You will then see an "Attach Files" window at the lower-left corner. Everyone only gets a total allotment of 150k of attachments, so your picture will have to be pretty small. You could upload an image to Brickshelf, then "Deeplink" it so that others don't have to wait several days for the image to be "moderated" (made public). I like using Flickr (which is free for less than 200 images), because you can upload images quickly, add descriptions, and have some control of the SIZE you link to your Eurobricks reply (800x600 pixels maximum).

[750ACE]

Here we go. Like I said, quick hack fix but stops the axle from pulling out.